Nicoll Nails It!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Armed with trusty TwinPod deck, Aaron Nicoll has taken down the 2011 Australian National Championships. Joining him in San Francisco this year will be Jiann Hua Chin from Melbourne, and Tasmania's Maitland Cameron. After making the top 8 here in Canberra back in 2009, Nicoll has been quietly honing his skills, recently relocating from Brisbane to Melbourne, where Australian deck builder extraordinaire Dan Unwin resides. It was Unwin that designed the deck Nicoll piloted to victory; Unwin himself finishing a heartbreaking 9th place. Rounding out the team as the alternate is Sydney's Andrew Bennett.

Name: Matthew Anderson Hometown: Sydney Age: 22 Occupation: Student What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? Mono Red Aggro Goblins with Pyretic Ritual. I felt like using Goblin Grenade. Constructed Record: 5-0-1 Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Blue/Black Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Blue/Green What's your best Magic finish and where/when? Qualified for PT Amsterdam What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? Being a circus performer.

Name: Aaron Nicoll Hometown: Melbourne now, used to be Brisbane Age: 19 Occupation: Baller What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? RUG Twin, because I think it's the best in the format. Constructed Record: 4-1-1 Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 3-0 Blue/White Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Green/Black splash Red What's your best Magic finish and where/when? Top 8 Nats two years ago. What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? Taking off my beanie (only happens while drafting)

Name: Jiann Hua Chin Hometown: Melbourne Age: 23 Occupation: Student What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? Tempered Steel! Good nut draws. Constructed Record: Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 3-0 BR Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 UW What's your best Magic finish and where/when? This one! What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? Slapping the bass mann!

Name: Luke Mulcahy Hometown: Melbourne Age: 24 Occupation: Engineering Student What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? Mono-Red. I'm comfortable with it, and it feeeeeels good! Constructed Record: 6-0 Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Green/Red Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 1-2 Red/White What's your best Magic finish and where/when? 15th PT San Diego What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? Winning our final year uni lego robot wars comp.

Name: Andrew Jacobs Hometown: Sydney Age: 19 Occupation: Student What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? Twinpod, most interesting deck in the format. Constructed Record: 5-1 Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Red/Blue Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 White/Red What's your best Magic finish and where/when? This. What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? Bi-winning.

Name: Andrew Bennett Hometown: Sydney Age: 29 Occupation: I.T. Products Specialist What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? Tempered Steel. It is very fast, and has good game vs the field. Constructed Record: 4-2 Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 3-0 Black/White Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Red/White What's your best Magic finish and where/when? Top 16 GP Sydney and Top 48 the Two-Headed Giant Pro Tour in San Diego What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? I won a Kotei playing L5R.

Name: Maitland Cameron Hometown: Devonport Age: 22 Occupation: Dream Crusher What standard deck did you play this weekend and why? Chihoi-Hawks. Couldn't afford any others. Constructed Record: 5-1 Draft One Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Blue/Green/White Draft Two Record, and the colors you drafted: 2-1 Black/Blue/White What's your best Magic finish and where/when? 3rd place at an FNM this one time when all the good players were sick. What is your greatest/proudest non-Magic achievement? I got my pen license in grade 3.

Quarterfinals – Wilfy Horig vs. Maitland Cameron

by Ray "blisterguy" Walkinshaw

Both Wilfy Horig and Maitland Cameron were convinced that they were favored coming into this match, but with all of the smiling and jovial cajoling, it has hard to tell if either of them were serious.

Cameron won the die roll, and stemmed the flow of Horig's Vampires with an Oblivion Ring a flock of Squadron Hawks. Eventually, Gideon Jura and Elspeth Tirel came to Cameron's aid, and he slowly began clawing his way back into the game. With nothing on top of Horig's library to help finish Cameron off, they headed to game two.

Cameron 1 – Horig 0

While the players sideboarded, Cameron told me to tell you all that he's @matonus on twitter, because he didn't yet have any followers. Cameron then excused himself to go to the bathroom (probably to see if this earned him any more).

Cameron mounted an offensive with a Colonnade and his Titan. Chin took blows for several turns, then activated and double-pumped two Inkmoth Nexus with his Overseers. He attacked for lethal, but Cameron had a Condemn to stay alive and swing back for the win.

Semifinals – Aaron Nicoll vs. Andrew Bennett

by Ray "blisterguy" Walkinshaw

After chatting about which Australian state they were representing in the top 4 – Andrew Bennett was New South Wales, while Aaron Nicoll had recently relocated from Queensland to Victoria – Nicoll won the die roll and unsurprisingly, elected to play.

Bennett shuffled away his opening hand with a "not today. I've mulliganed more times in the top 8 than I have all day!"

On the draw for game three, Bennett's opening turn was still no less threatening, with Memnite, Memnite, and Signal Pest. This time, Nicoll had the Pyroclasm for a sweet three for one. "You either had it or you didn't," Bennett sighed, as Nicoll summoned a Battlement. The downside to Bennett's hand became swiftly apparent as he missed his second land drop. Nicoll summoned a Solemn Simulacrum, while Bennett summoned a pair of Vault Skirges. Phantasmal Image copied the Simulacrum, putting Nicoll's land count at seven to Bennett's one. Another Pyroclasm wiped Bennett's team, and refilled Nicoll's hand. Bennett found a second land and summoned a Steel Overseer, but Nicoll Preordained into a Frost Titan. A third Pyroclasm sealed the deal.

Nicoll 2 – Bennett 1

Both players kept. Nicoll immediately, but Bennett after some thought. "Someone looks happy," Bennett ventured, summoning a pair of Memnites and an Origin Spellbomb. "I was just happy you tanked for so long," Nicoll laughed, summoning a Birds of Paradise. A Dispatch took out the Birds, and the Memnites were joined by a third, but Bennett once again lacked a second land. "Come on, you know you want to," Bennett coaxed Nicoll. "I'd totally Pyroclasm if I had one," Nicoll replied, instead summoning a Spellskite.

Aaron Nicoll tempers his steely gaze

Bennett thumped the top of deck, but still came up short. He sent in his team. Nicoll flashed in a Deceiver Exarch, killing one of the Memnites. "Mountain, kill me?" Bennett asked, but Nicoll shook his head, summoning a Solemn Simulacrum. "Ooh, fetch a Mountain and kill me next turn," Bennett clarified, which was exactly what happened.

Spellskite and another Nexus got their beats on, with the Overseer making the Spellskite more aggressive than normal. A Day of Judgment from Cameron helped stem the bleeding, but there was still a Nexus and a Glint Hawk Idol to contend with. Cameron's contention arrived in the form of a Pair of Planeswalkers. Elspeth Tirel and Jace Beleren were enough to power him to victory.

"Oh, no, no, no," replied Cameron, showing a Mana Leak. Unfortunately for Cameron, he missed his next land drop, letting Bennett's summoned Steel Overseer resolve unmolested. It went on a Journey to Nowhere, while Bennett cast a Tempered Steel, making his pair of infectious lands look far more intimidating.

Chin found another Plains, but an Oxidda Scrapmelter destroyed Chin's inactive Mox Opal, and the Slime became a Frost Titan, tapping down the Plains. With next to nothing left in play, Chin could only take the beats with a stoic smile and a handshake.

Aaron Nicoll defeats Jiann Hua Chin 3-2 to become the 2011 National Champion!

Australia Nationals Team

Top 5 Magic 2012 Cards from the Australian National Championships

by Ray "blisterguy" Walkinshaw

It's been an exciting weekend here in Canberra, where the brand new Core Set: Magic 2012 has helped shape the new Standard of constructed Magic. Here are our picks for the top 5 Magic 2011 cards from this weekend:

This fiery little Red one-drop has seen plenty of play in its day, and again this weekend, helping power up the Mono Red decks that have been leaving haphazard scorch marks all about the place. Grim Lavamancer played an integral part in both Wilfy Horig's and Luke Mulcahy's top 8 decks.

This reprint may have arrived just a moment too late to keep Jace, the Mind Sculptor in check, but it was seen all over the show here, exiling anything and everything, from Planeswalkers, to Shrines of either Loyal Legions or Burning Rage, and even stooping to "just" eliminating any creatures they don't like the look of. Oblivion Ring helped Maitland Cameron crush Wilfy Horig in the top 8 by exiling Horig's tenacious Bloodghasts.

The invitational card originally designed by Jens Thorén has had a renewed lease on life here this weekend. Helping ramp up those powerful Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle decks, and filling a very important spot in the Twin Pod list Aaron Nicoll used to win the main event. The affectionately named "Sad Robot" will no doubt see widespread play until it eventually rotates back out of Standard.

Now here's a fun card. This new gem has been seen doing all manner of unexpected and tricky things this weekend. It may have been only a one-of in Nicoll's winning list, but it was a very key part of the powerful, and frankly over the top plays the deck seemed capable of. The drawback was especially minimal, given that if someone was going to try and kill a creature in this format, it would have been dead regardless. Yeah, two mana seems fair for a Clone.

And last, but most definitely not least, we have Timely Reinforcements. This is our number one card because not only was it seeing play in Standard, but players were singing its praise in Draft as well. National Champion Aaron Nicoll went as far as drafting one over a Merfolk Looter in his 3-0 Blue/White draft deck, and vowing he would do the same again every time, if given the chance.